We sat down with Amina Aaliya Beg to chat about their new show My Mum Told Me Not To Marry An Atheist.
My Mum Told Me Not To Marry An Atheist is a play / DJ set exploring DADI and her granddaughter KAMAL’s relationship about love, marriage & being intergenerational trouble-makers.
Link to tickets on the 19th and 24th of March: https://cptheatre.co.uk/whatson/My-Mum-Told-Me-Not-To-Marry-An-Atheist-WIP
What sparked the idea for My Mum Told Me Not To Marry An Atheist?
I invited my husband’s family for dinner to my parents house. This was before we got married, my husband and I drafted a Google Doc of our relationship timeline combined with a script of potential topics of what/not to talk about to his parents. We were planning how to pitch my soon-to-be husband to my Dadi (grandmother) and mother, making sure he was the ideal suitor, so we could win them over with his A* in RE, self-taught in the home, architect-in-training….it almost felt like Nathan Fielder’s The Rehearsal planning potential conversations on what to talk about with your potential spouse’s family. It’s stressful (the potential possibilities of various timelines getting mixed up). James and I always joked about potential plot developments/inciting incidents that we found in that document. We always thought that performing this play in a meta-type way would be the best way to come out to our parents on how mixed marriages can give dawah (spread Islam) changing the social and political discourse framed around Muslim representation (and that we also wanted to be together). This show has taken 6 renditions starting in Contact Theatre in September 2023 in Manchester, exploring the commercialisation of religion in Saudi Arabia and my relationship with faith (deen) and consumption (dunya) and how we balance it in a world driven by capitalism whilst Saudi Arabia builds The Makkah Line. The initial show used projection, animation and architecture. This was performed by James and I followed by Safia Bibi (who played the role of Dadi – grandmother). I think the role of Dadi was underdeveloped in the first rendition of My Mum Told Me Not To Marry An Atheist, she mostly appears towards the end singing in the wedding scene. I wanted Dadi to be more central in this next rendition of My Mum Told Me Not To Marry An Atheist. I’m really curious about intergenerational relationships and how sometimes our grandparents can be more accepting than our own parents.
I’m really interested in bringing other art forms into theatre making it nuanced by bringing in my love for DJing. DJing is an art form that curates people into ease, directing the atmosphere whilst introducing people to new ideas. Some people see DJing as a ‘low art form’, I wanted to bring it to theatre, because theatre like art galleries can feel inaccessible, maybe it’s the awkward tension of us versus them when we’re watching performers or it’s the dialogue, honestly I struggle to understand what’s happening on-stage (even though this is was my degree at uni). Sometimes you can feel that you’re not smart enough to understand ‘it’ which is a mindset I wish we could unlearn, especially for young people or people from Global Majority backgrounds. I think intersecting multiple art forms, like DJing or stand-up breaks these traditional formats of theatre, by playing a character, distorting dialogue and revealing truth which is what I wanted for this show. I wanted to make a show where aunties could bring their daughters, vice versa. This show is for the ladies because they’re genuinely the funniest people with sharp wit, flow and cadence.
How did Dadi’s voice arrive for you?
Dadi’s voice is a combination of various people. Some real, some fictional. I have one auntie who is also a grandmother and radio presenter Humera Haqqani MBE. She is the founder of Let’s Talk Rochdale (grassroots women’s group helping them grow confident within themselves) and hosts a weekly radio show every Friday called Crescent Radio, exploring social topics within the Pakistani community in Rochdale. Dadi’s character is also taken from shows like Bhaji On The Beach (1993), The Mrs Merton Show (1993) and Goodness Gracious Me (1998). There are some elements of my own grandmother Mehar Jehan Beg with her sharp wittiness, 365 party girl sunglasses and her Paris fashion week hijab.
What does DJing let you do theatrically that dialogue alone can’t?
I think DJing as an art form is so intricate and it gives you autonomy especially to Dadi who scratches the decks, rewinding, pitch shifting Kamal’s voice dissecting her lies to then finding her truth. This is something dialogue can’t do in real time. DJing gives power that dialogue can’t. As DJs we are curators, directors and facilitators making sure everyone feels at ease, and Dadi does this seamlessly.
How do humour and tenderness sit alongside each other in this story?
The humour builds up to the tenderness, winning the audience’s support for Dadi. I think you have to laugh in order to cry, so you can earn that emotional intimacy between Dadi and Kamal as Dadi unravels her past.
How does audience interaction change the emotional temperature of the piece?
Audience interaction increases the emotional temperature of the piece by bringing energy and ease to the audience. It breaks the uncomfortable tension that can exist in theatre between the performers and the audience, removing the “us versus them” divide. By involving the audience directly, Dadi creates a shared experience where the audience feels included rather than separate from the performance. For example, when an audience member plays The Boy, the romantic interest, it adds humour and playfulness while allowing the audience to actively participate in the story.
What are you discovering by developing the show as a work in progress?
By developing the show as a work in progress, I’m discovering how to perform a one-woman show while incorporating DJing, audience interaction, and projection into theatre. Through sharing the piece at Camden People’s Theatre, I’m exploring how open and accepting audiences are when I interact with or tease them, and how willing they are to participate. I’m also learning how audiences respond to unconventional elements, such as a character being represented through the DJ decks and through audience interaction.